The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or relevant, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Excessive consumptions of high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, sugar, are linked to obesity, diabetes and numerous other health concerns. In the US, it is estimated that an average person consumes 20 teaspoons a day or more than 150 pounds of sugar per year. Teen consumption is even higher at 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. Excessive consumption of sugar has been linked to the recent dramatic rise in type 2 diabetes among adolescents. Further, as a result of excessive refining, sugar has low nutritional value as it is devoid of vitamins, minerals and fiber. It has been reported that 129 million adults in the U.S. are overweight and that over 60 million individuals (or over 30% of the adult population) are obese. As a result, 40 million children are overweight and these health conditions contribute to over 300,000 premature deaths each year.
Diabetes, however, is only one of the numerous consequences of sugar over-consumption. It has been reported that the detrimental effects of excess sugar in the diet go far beyond tooth decay and obesity. For example, sugar can cause irregularities in the insulin response; sugar can also cause diabetes-like damage to organs such as kidneys. It has been reported to contribute to the degeneration of the retina; and it raises blood lipid levels and increases the “adhesiveness” of the blood platelets, a common precursor of heart conditions.
The most effective way to achieve and sustain healthful weight-loss is by reducing calorie intake. Unfortunately, most individuals are instinctively attracted to the sensation of sweetness, which makes it more difficult for them to resist eating food and beverages which contain high-caloric, high-glycemic sugars and sweeteners such as, for example, sucrose, fructose, honey and high-fructose corn syrup. Further, food manufacturers that produce low- or reduced-fat products often substantially increase the sugar or sweetener content of their products to offset the loss of taste and texture often associated with reducing fat content.
One strategy in an attempt to solve these serious health issues is the creation of a zero- or low-calorie sweetener or sugar substitutes that can be used in foods and/or beverages to replace or reduce high-calorie sweeteners and/or sugar content. Examples of such zero-calorie artificial sweeteners include, for example, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose and saccharin. Low-calorie natural sweeteners would include lo han guo and stevia both derived from fruit and roots, respectively. However, not all zero- or low-calorie sweeteners or sugar substitutes, artificial or natural are suitable for all applications. For example, some sweeteners may be suitable for beverages such as sodas and drink mixes but are not acceptable for use in baked goods because exposure to higher temperatures during baking can reduce the sweetening ability of the sweetener. Some natural sweeteners have a bitter aftertaste and do not render a sweet enough taste or exist in a natural color such as brown or yellow, which conflicts with clear beverages or light colored baked products. As another example, some sweeteners may be suitable for use in solid foods or baked goods but may not work properly for use in beverages and drink mixes due to limitations on solubility or may not have GRAS status (generally recognized as safe as defined by the FDA).
Thus, in light of the aforementioned, there is a clear need and a demand for an all-natural sweetener composition and methods for producing thereof that meets many of the health and commercial requirements.
Brazzein protein was first isolated from the fruit of Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon and has been reported to be multiple times sweeter than sucrose. There are at least two forms of brazzein identified in the fruit; the major form (about 80%), which has pyroglutamic acid at the N-terminus and the minor form (about 20%), which is identical to the major form except for the N-terminal residue, which is not pyroglutamic acid brazzein is heat-stable and its sweetness remains after heating at 80° C. for 4 hrs. The structure of brazzein contains one α-helix and three strands of antiparallel β-sheet. This stability of brazzein is due to four intramolecular disulfide bonds and the absence of no-free sulfhydryl groups in a brazzein molecule.